Making Tax Digital pilot scheme launched by HMRC

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB) pilot scheme, designed to ‘make it easier for customers to get their tax right’.

The launch of the pilot scheme represents HMRC’s next step in moving taxpayers to a fully digital tax system.

From April, businesses and their agents will be invited to sign up to the new service which will allow them to report their income and expenses online.

In addition to being able to make use of accounting software to record their business income and expenses, firms will be permitted to send quarterly summary reports directly from their digital records and sign up to ‘go paperless’.

HMRC states that, based on the information that customers submit, businesses will receive an ‘estimated tax calculation’.

Once the new service has been thoroughly tested by the first group of businesses, HMRC will invite other customers to join the pilot scheme. Upon receiving participants’ feedback, the Revenue will then seek to develop and improve the service.